SAN GABRIEL >> A large fire in San Gabriel destroyed a vacant home and a commercial building and sent one person to a hospital with smoke inhalation Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

Firefighters first responded about 1:40 p.m. to a report of a fire in the 500 block of West Norwood Place, San Gabriel Fire Department Division Chief Bryan Frieders said.

“When the first arriving companies got there, the house was fully involved with flames and smoke,” the chief said. The house was vacant.

The fire had also spread into an attached 2,500-square-foot commercial building, which was also believed to be vacant, Frieders said.

Firefighters declared a “second alarm,” bringing about 55 personnel to the scene.

An elderly neighbor was taken to a hospital in good condition after apparently becoming overwhelmed by smoke emanating from the fire, Frieders said.

Officials extinguished the flames in 37 minutes, he said. A portion of the roof of the burning commercial building collapsed during the fire, as well as a wall inside the house.

The house and commercial building were destroyed by the fire, Frieders said, and the value of the damage was estimated to be $600,000.

But firefighters managed to keep the fire from spreading to a second home situated only a few feet away from the first, as well as to a backyard aviary containing more than a dozen birds.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation, however investigators noted the structures have had reported issues with squatters in the past.

As firefighters worked to extinguish the Norwood Place fire, a second fire sparked at a nearby liquor store in the 1700 block of New Avenue, Frieders said.

The fire ignited inside the businesses electrical box, and ultimately caused about $30,000 to the store and its contents. It would have been much worse had firefighters not been so close when it started, Frieders said.

The cause of the liquor store fire also remained under investigation Thursday, though officials were looking into the possibility the electrical fire was caused by damage from the first fire, Frieders said. Both businesses are wired to the same electrical pole.

Brian Day has covered crime and breaking news for the Southern California News Group since 2007. He’s a graduate of California State University, Fullerton and Cerritos College in Norwalk. He loves dogs and has a pet German shepherd, which in turn, has a pet cat. Brian is a local news junkie, a licensed drone pilot and a part-time science geek with an unfortunate predilection for puns.

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